Commercial vehicle owners, operators protest in Ri-Bhoi

NONGPOH, Aug 1: Peeved at the apathetic attitude of the district administration of Ri-Bhoi, a protest was staged by the Joint Action Committee of All Ri-Bhoi Passengers Vehicle on Tuesday, demanding payment for their services provided during the COVID-19 pandemic and the last general assembly elections.
A frustrated lot of passenger vehicle operators gheraoed the Deputy Commissioner’s office to seek redressal of their grievances.
The Committee, representing various associations of taxis, Sumo vehicles, buses and pickup trucks, had submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Ri-Bhoi, Arpit Upadhyaya, on May 16, seeking the immediate release of their pending bills.
The DC had assured them that the payments for the services during elections would be released within 15-20 days.
However, more than a month has passed since the DC’s assurance and the vehicle operators are yet to receive their pending payments.
The district administration of Ri-Bhoi had requisitioned more than 400 vehicles for election duty but the payments have not been disbursed so far.
After hours of protest on Tuesday, the DC, Arpit Upadhyaya sought another 15-day extension to address the concerns. The protesters hesitantly accepted the request.
Speaking to the media, general secretary of the joint action committee, Vincent Sohkhwai, said that if the payments are not disbursed within the timeframe sought by the DC, the committee will take stronger measures to seek justice. He warned of boycotting upcoming government duties including the MDC elections.